A Very Important Man's Return
by BatteredandBloodied
Summary: Even though Helena's home, she can't stop thinking of the other world. Valentine particularly comes to her mind, and she wishes she could see him again. What happens when her wishes come true? Helena/Valentine pairing.
1. He Won't Leave Me Alone

Helena was nervous, very nervous.  
>She always did this when she was nervous. She would juggle carefully, as if she were juggling grenades instead of balls. Of course, she was by her caravan. She knew it would only get her in trouble, but it was the only place she felt truly calm.<br>Ever since she had come back home, she had become braver. Well, and she dazed off back into the 'alternate world' memories often, too. It had almost become a bad habit. She'd be thinking of her anti self, the sphinxes, Mrs. Bagwell and her odd ramblings, the gryphon, and of course, Valentine. Her drawings sometimes even consisted of the memories. She often wondered how the White Queen was doing, if the princess was behaving, and if the Dark Queen was well, staying…dark? Helena didn't know what to think of her.

No matter what though, she couldn't shake the nervousness.

The bloody nervousness wasn't because it was the opening night, oh no. That's what endless rehearsals were for.  
>It was because her mind always liked to travel back to that night, the night the cancer finally took over her mum. Even though her father assured her the doctors had "gotten all of it", it still scared Helena. She always thought that maybe there would still be some left, somewhere.<br>Well, that wasn't the only thing that was bothering her.  
>Helena had heard two men in the troupe talking about a man walking around in a rectangular mask and who wore a long white robe, with tons of things stuffed in the pockets. He had asked everyone if they had seen or heard about a "lost juggling associate, a close friend."<br>Helena knew it had to be him, it just had to be.  
>Valentine.<br>Something bothered her, though. She was torn between believing it was all just a bloody dream, or that it had really happened.

It all seemed impossible, but possible at the same time.

"That doesn't even make any sense..." Helena mumbled to herself. Even her own thoughts were frustrating her now.

"Two minutes until show time, love!" Her mum called to her. Helena jumped at this, and she missed a ball, which threw off her whole routine. She sighed and tossed the other two on the ground.

It made her mind bounce back.

"Butterfingers!" She had mused to Valentine. Of course he had to be the one to wake her up. He really was an important man.  
>Helena snapped back to reality, cursing at herself for getting lost in daydreams again, and she ran as fast as she could towards the building. She couldn't be late on the opening show now could she?<p>

She burst through the back of the tent, gasping for breath. Her father had just announced the first act.

"I thought we had lost you there, dear!" Helena's mum whispered to her as she caught up with her breath again. Helena smirked, and her mum tapped her on the nose.

"Hey bambino, think fast!" Her father called to her. Helena glanced at him and her father tossed one of the torches to her. It wasn't lit yet, but she caught it flawlessly, and tossed it back with ease. Her dad winked at her, mouthed _Good job_ and Helena smiled.

"Alright then, it's only a minute until our round! Places!" Her mum called. Helena put a black and red mask on her face. The red half resembled violent, brilliant red and orange flames, while the black part looked like sooty ashes, as if a dragon was breathing on her mask. Helena walked up to the front of the opening and stood by her father, mother, and three other performers. Pingo, the mime, came over and nodded at Helena's dad, who handed him the torches. Pingo took all of the torches and lit them, handing them carefully back to Helena, her mum, and her dad. He did one of his odd clown hand movements, and Helena laughed. Helena was a bit nervous, and she sighed deeply. Her mother gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze as she was anxiously waiting for the cue. Helena closed her eyes, and thought back to the day the contractor had offered them a 'marvelous deal', as her father had called it. They now had a huge arena to perform their shows in, which could hold much more people, and meant bigger, more amazing performances. Well, it also meant that more people would want to join the circus, but Helena was glad that the family circus was doing well. A few of the people she trained had been total ditzes, but the rest were actually pretty talented, if Helena were to say so herself. They were even going to get animals in soon and possibly go all around Britain.  
>Her thoughts were immediately cut off whenever the stage went pitch black.<p>

"The dragons! They're here!" One of the performers already on stage called. Her father whistled quietly, and rushed out of the tent, blowing flames at the audience, which resulted in several shrills. A loud roaring filled the auditorium, as if a large dragon really was there. Helena had secretly thought the whole effect was pretty amazing, but she'd never admit it. Joanee, her mum, ran out as her father growled at the other performers. Helena was up after that, and she exhaled deeply. Morris, her father, tapped her on the shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. Helena smiled back, and rushed onto the stage, also 'breathing fire' at the audience. The whole room lit up in a second with brilliant orange and red flames that licked at the audience. More shrills echoed through the air.

"You dare mess with us Firebreathers, humans?" Helena shouted at the performers without torches, while baring her teeth at them, like she was a dangerous lion. She crouched low and seemed to almost creep towards them, threateningly.

"Then I guess we'll have to devour you…bones and all." The gryphon flashed through Helena's mind for a split second as her dad said this, and all of them blew fire at the performers. They ran offstage with their clothes set aflame. (Even though it kinda made Helena sick, the other performers were protected by a special solution, which prevented them from getting burned.) Suddenly, three other performers dropped down from the ceiling, with marvelous wings attached to their harnesses. They were wearing dragon like masks, and had awful "claws" on their fingernails. The dragons swooped down, and swiped at the 'Firebreathers.'

"REAL dragons!" Helena shouted, and they tried to run away. Her father drew a long sword, and pretended to 'slay' the dragons. The dragons shouted in pain, collapsed and sprawled out in pain. Fake blood squelched from their wounds. The effect seemed convincing enough, because the audience was going crazy at this point. Whenever they were all slain, everybody got up and bowed, and they all blew fire into the air, lighting the entire building in a marvelous rain of fire. The audience went insane, and all Helena could hear were shouts of joy and claps. She smiled, took a bow with the rest, and ran off towards backstage. She looked back for only a second.  
>It made her freeze dead in her tracks.<br>There he was, right in the front row.  
>Valentine.<p>

…  
>"Love, you look like you're going to pass out!" Her mum said to her as soon as she finally walked in.<p>

"I…I'm fine mum. When does the show end?" Helena's heart was racing, and she could barely think straight. How in the world had Valentine gotten back here? He certainly didn't do it whenever she left. No, that couldn't have been possible. Could it? It couldn't be. It had to be.  
>She confused herself again.<p>

"Are you listening, Helena? I said the show would be over in about ten minutes. What are you so worried about?" Her mum almost looked concerned, as if Helena was going to keel over too.

"No, I just saw somebody I recognized in the crowd…" Helena sat down, and her mum sat beside her, stroking her hair softly. She didn't mention much just because she didn't want her mum to think she was absolutely barking mad.

"It wasn't one of those…bullies, was it?" Joanne carefully asked her daughter. Helena almost tensed up. Recently, there had been a group of kids that would tease Helena and bump into her while she would entertain the people waiting for tickets. They'd pick up her juggling balls just before the show started, and throw them far away, so Helena would have to scramble for them in order to make it to the stage in time. They'd also tease her and call her names. She usually just shrugged it off, but it had eventually gotten to her. One of the attendants tried to get them to stop and to go away, but the bullies only laughed and called him a freak. Although, they hadn't come back ever since the huge weight lifting performer had scared them off. He had cracked his knuckles loudly at them, and grabbed the leader boy, Logan, by his shirt. Helena stared in shock and a bit of a "ha ha you-got-what-was-coming-to-you" look. Logan looked basically sick, and the weight lifter, Louis, promised Logan that he'd smash his face in if he or any other of his rats bothered Helena again. After they had run off in fear, not daring to look back, Louis patted Helena on the head and gave her a friendly smile.

"Don't let 'em get to ya, mate! Follow yer dreams, and don't let anyone steer ya away from 'em." Louis told her before walking back into the stage.

"Helena, please…you're zoning out again. I don't like it when you do that…" Joanne whispered to Helena, almost in a harsh voice. Helena blinked a couple times, and sighed. She really did hate this new habit.

"I'm sorry mum…and no, it wasn't one of the bullies. It was just a friend."

"Oh! A friend, you say? Well, go hang out with them after the show. It makes me happy whenever you talk about friends." Joanne told her with a smile.

"Well, would you look at that? The show's over. I'll tell your dad about what's going on. Go off and find your buddy, Helena. I don't want you to miss them!" Her mum called to her as she ran over to help pack things away.  
>Helena scrambled to get up, and she ran out of the complex. There were still tons of people mingling around, and some scrambling for their cars. Helena looked around desperately, searching for Valentine.<br>There was only one thing on her mind, though. She had to know. It just didn't make any sense.  
>How in the bloody hell did he get here…?<br>**_ **


	2. Physical Appearance

Helena managed to push her way through the crowd of people, and began to become annoyed at what seemed to be the growing swarm of people. Her eyes darted around frantically, her heart raced, and her mind wouldn't operate clearly. He wouldn't leave her bloody thoughts, and she almost hated it. It'd been almost four months since she'd last seen his face, and he was slipping away from her memory.  
>She hated that too.<p>

Gathering up all the courage she could muster, she called out his name, practically pleading for a responce.

"Valentine!" She called out. People looked at her for a few seconds, as if she had a few screws loose, and continued walking.

Nothing. Zilch. No response.  
><em><br>Please, please, please..._She thought to herself.  
>She felt the same way she did whenever the hospital had called her dad about her mum. Absolutely nervous, unable to think, and basically in tears.<br>Helena decided that she officially hated Valentines now. He'd caused her all of this frenzy in her mind for nothing! He didn't even respond to her yet. Useless man! Helena began to almost get angry at herself for thinking that she would finally be able to see him again, to be able to juggle with him at least one more time, and for even letting him enter her thoughts. She had begun to practically storm back into the building.

Well, she was until she heard somebody running towards her. She turned around in an instant, hoping to not get slammed into by a little kid. That never felt good.

Her heart stopped.

The voices of the crowds seemed to slip away, her thoughts were quelled, and her eyes watered up.

He really was here. _Physically _there. She didn't have to believe in what seemed like fairy tales anymore.

He smiled that fox smile of his at her.  
>"Helena...it really is you." He said, almost hysterical. He began to laugh out loud while Helena was practically crying of happiness. She wasn't even offended that he was laughing, for she knew it wasn't at her. The tears slid down her face quietly, and she began to laugh along with him. It was hard not to, since he was practically howling.<p>

Suddenly, he swooped her off of the ground and twirled her around, like a groom with his bride. Everything seemed to meld together, like it had whenever she placed the MirrorMask over her face. Helena could barely breathe, and she basically stumbled a bit whenever he finally set her down.  
>They looked at each other, and Helena exhaled softly. Conversation almost seemed awkward.<br>"Valentine...I can't believe it's you." Helena finally managed to push out of herself.

Why had she never felt like this before? She had thought of herself as fearless, independant, and courageous. Now she was jumpy, estactic, and more afraid than she had ever been in her entire life.

"Well, of course it is! There's no other man quite as handsome as I."

Helena laughed at his narcissism, but she also found it cute. Something nagged at her mind, though. She had to know everything that had been going on. Maybe it would finally make her stop zoning out.

"I'm so happy to see you again, Valentine. I must ask about the...other world, though. What all has happened?"

He seemed to ponder the question for a moment, and he looked around. He stared at some of the people, who gave him odd looks and seemed to whisper about him. Valentine wasn't exactly...normal. He wore a mask, had a partly purple beard, a purple line running down his face, and a huge coat that practically dragged behind him. The circus show was over, but the rides were open for the night hours. Helena's family was even able to rent a few non-cheesy rides for after the shows, which Helena found to be pretty...well, awesome. Quite a few families stayed behind to ride the rides and have a good time, to Helena's surprise. The smell of carnival food was in the air, and Helena knew Valentine well enough that that's exactly what he wanted. Maybe food really was the pathway to a man's heart. Helena laughed to herself as she thought of this, and shook her head, almost angry at herself for getting all "lovey dovey".

"If you buy me a morsel of some of this amazing smelling food, I think I may be able to share some of my secrets." He flashed his fox smile again.

"Oh, fine Valentine. I don't even have to buy it, since I perform in the circus." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"That's completely fine with me. I want a...funnel cake. That sounds absolutely delightful." He ran off toward the vendor, and Helena chuckled, dashing after him.  
>...<p>

"This is even better than that weird mask lady's cakes!" Valentine was practically in heaven. He licked his fingers and swiped up some of the leftover sugar from the funnel cake. He licked that off of his fingers, too. Helena had to pry the plate form him so he wouldn't try and eat it.

"Anyway, you were going to share the "secrets" of the other world with me. That's the whole reason I got that funnel cake for you, you know," Helena said to him. He nodded and suggested they find a place to sit. A lonesome metal bench did the job.  
>Valentine stroked his beard for a second and sighed. A lot really had happened after Helena had left, but it was worth the trouble to tell her. He knew she wasn't a dull girl, and that she'd listen to him.<p>

"Alright. Well, first off, the White Queen woke up, obviously. The whole town practically threw a party, and they wanted to exile the Dark Queen and her wretched daughter. Whitey did not approve of this, and instead, they refined the borders between the Shadowlands and the Lightlands, and hired teachers and other people to help keep the princess under control. After the MirrorMask had shown up again, they placed it in a glass case within Whitey's quarters. It's protected by guards all the time. A real pain to get, if you ask me. Anyway, they erected a statue of you in the Lightlands. It's magnificent, really. They carved it out of our finest metals and scraps from abandoned buildings. They even painted it. It looks exactly like you..." Valentine's voice dwindled away, and he wouldn't say anymore.  
><em>That must be how he got here. He got the MirrorMask, somehow. Maybe he worked for the White queen, er well, "Whitey" as Valentine called her.<br>A statue for me? I have to thank them somehow. Draw new buildings or something. _Helena was lost in her thoughts again. Valentine snapped his fingers at her, and she immediately shot up, going a bit wide eyed and embarrassed that she let herself slip in front of Valentine.

"I'm sorry! I must've gotten lost in my big head again. So the Lightlands are doing well?"

Valentine nodded and stared up at the sky, and Helena looked up with him. It was a clear night, and every star seemed to be out. The moon seemed enormous and was practically shining down on them. It was...almost romantic.

"You have those twinkly things too, and a moon!" He seemed almost astonished.

"The twinkly things are called stars here." Helena told him, trying not to offend him. He didn't seem to mind the comment. A cold breeze passed by, and Helena shivered. She was still in her leotard, which wasn't the best windbreaker. The wind wouldn't stop nagging at them, and she continued to shiver, holding her shoulders, and her teeth began to chatter. Valentine glanced at her, and noticed how cold she was. He felt awfully rude for not noticing it before.  
>His heart skipped for a second.<br>_thmp thmp..._

He took off his coat and draped it softly over her shoulders. She pulled it close to her, as if it were a baby blanket.

"Thank you..." She said softly, and she closed her eyes, sighing in relief. She hadn't realized how much the performance had tired her out, how much her thoughts tired her out, and how much Valentine had tired her out. Her head dropped suddenly, but she didn't wake up. She had already fallen asleep, and Valentine caught her just before she basically fell off the bench.  
>His heart skipped again.<br>_thmp thmp..._

What exactly was this strange feeling he felt? It was...warm. Welcoming. It made his face turn a little hot and it made his chest get tight. Made the air almost hard to suck in. He'd never really felt anything like it, and he enjoyed it. It also scared him. It was enough to drive him insane, really. He picked her up carefully, but he didn't really know where to go. Suddenly, a woman that looked a bit like Helena ran up to him.

"Oh! Hello! You must be Helena's friend. I'm Joanne, her mum...oh. I see my little girl must've fallen asleep...where did she get that coat...? Thank you for talking to her, you see, she doesn't have very many friends. It makes me happy that she finally found one. I'll take her from you..."

Joanne carefully took Helena, holding her like she would a baby. Helena nuzzled into her mum's neck almost automatically. Joanne looked at Valentine, and back at Helena. She noticed that Helena had a very long coat draped over her. It seemed large enough to fit the young man. Joanne's face lit up, and she smiled at him.

"Thank you for giving her your jacket, erm..."

"Valentine." He said with an awkward smile.

"Well then, thank you, Mr. Valentine."

Joanne winked at Valentine. Before Valentine could say anything, she walked off back toward the building. Valentine scratched his head, and sighed. He almost didn't want to let go of Helena. He wanted to hold her forever. Er, well, at least until he got hungry again. Those cakes really were delicious.

He shook the thoughts of food from his head. He'd waited for this day for what seemed like ages. Something bothered him though.

How could Helena have no friends? She was kind, silly, and she could juggle well. Those were the perfect qualities of a friend in Valentine's book. It bothered him. She deserved to have friends.  
>Well, he never had a friend before either. It actually felt really good to have somebody close.<br>He never wanted to leave again. He wasn't going to. He didn't really care if it "upset" things in the other world. Although, he had become successful. Hundreds of people came to see his act, for he had gathered a miniature troupe and had performed for the townspeople. He always held his performances by Helena's statue, and he wouldn't do them anywhere else. He didn't know why, but he just felt...attracted to the place. As if it were made for him.  
>Well, he was a very important man, after all.<p>

He stood there, and stared up at the sky again. A shooting star wizzed by, and Valentine automatically wished upon it, like his troupe member, Marcon, had told him. Marcon was obsessed with the stars, and he would blabber on about them. Valentine never really listened, for he'd be too distracted by food or by Helena.  
>Well, he did feel a little bad for taking the MirrorMask without Whitey's permission, but he had to. He couldn't wait any longer. He knew she wouldn't be back since she didn't have the MirrorMask. He sighed, and rubbed his head. He'd been thinking too much and had given himself a headache.<br>He walked off, but he realized that he didn't have anywhere to stay. He slapped his hand to his forehead, and ran towards the building that Joanne had walked off to.

"Hey! Is anybody in here?" Valentine shouted at the building, expecting it to rise up. Helena's voice rang in his head.  
><em><br>Buildings don't leave you where I come from. _

"Oh! Mr. Valentine! Why are you here?" It was Joanne again. She crossed her arms and looked at him. Her hair was down, and she was simply dressed in sleep pants and a long baggy sweatshirt. Valentine wrung his hands together nervously and sighed.

"I...don't really have anywhere to stay. I was wondering if I could stay here...?" His voice dwindled away again, for he feared the answer. He hated asking favors ever since he had been kicked out of his mum's house.

"Why of course, Mr. Valentine. I'll set up a little bed for you. Helena's sleeping in here tonight, anyway. The whole family is. We have a lunch show tomorrow, anyway. If you'll hold on a second?" Joanne ran back into the building, leaving Valentine alone with his thoughts. Before he knew it, Joanne came back and she ushered him into a room. They wished each other a good night, and she shut his door. It really was a huge building. Valentine imagined that it would have wings in the other world. It'd be a magnificent tower. He flopped onto the bed and sighed, pulling his mask off and examining it slightly. Even though he hated taking it off, he couldn't have it cracking, now could he? Valentine placed it on the floor next to him, and immediately fell asleep. 


	3. Nightmare

Valentine roused himself from the clutches of sleep early the next morning, stretching his arms out wide and yawning. He smacked his lips a few times, and reached for his mask, putting it on carefully. He could hear Helena talking with somebody else.

"Alright, so you've got your eighteen groups of elements, right? Study them. Be sure to know how many valence electrons they have and all that. I know you have trouble with this, so I want to make sure you've got it down. I'll see you later, Helena." Helena thanked the woman and Valentine could hear her footsteps echoing down the hallway if he listened closely.

He crept quietly out of the bed, practically tiptoeing outside. Helena was basically just out there, facing away from him and sitting at a table and chewing on a pencil. He crept up behind her and he heard her mumbling about electrons and all that with a notebook and a science book sprawled out in front of her. He never really liked science. Too many parts to it. If he were to describe it, he'd call it annoying and useless, just like sphinxes. He tapped Helena on the back, and she practically shot up into the air, even screaming a tiny bit. She turned around sharply, as if a mass murderer were behind her.

"Oh! Valentine…you scared the daylights out of me. Wait a second. Why are you here?"

"Whoa, wait! Before you blow a gasket on me, your mum let me stay here. I had nowhere to go, and I wasn't about to go sleep in an ally. I'm an important man. Important men don't sleep in allies."

Helena laughed at his remark, and it made him smile a tiny bit. He'd been hoping she would laugh. He glanced at her fingernails and noticed that they were still black from whenever she'd been…transformed. A small pang of guilt crept up on him for just a split second, but he shook it from his head. Onwards and upwards. She didn't seem too upset with him about it now anyway. She seemed almost skeptical, though.

"Are you sure…? Huh. Mum must've been all zoned out on her medication again…" Helena sighed. Her mum had started taking meds so that she could successfully recover after she finally got out of the hospital, and so that pain wouldn't creep up on her during performances. They _really _didn't need another repeat of whenever the cancer struck. Helena blushed and started laughing. She knew what her mother would think.

"What? What's so funny?" Valentine was almost appalled. Nobody had said a joke or anything, and there Helena was, howling like a crazy hyena. Tears were coming to her eyes. She brushed them away and glanced at him, smiling again.

"You know, my mum is going to think that we had sex or something." Valentine practically jumped away from Helena at this point as if she were a big black puddle of shadows.

"That's nasty!" He practically shouted. 

"I forgot how sick your mind was." He crossed his arms, appalled yet again that she would claim such a thing. Although, he did have to admit, it was kinda funny.  
>"Oops…speak of the devil…" Helena muttered just as her mum walked in. She stared at Valentine for a second, and snapped her fingers.<p>

"Oh! Mr. Valentine! Why in the world are you here?"  
>Helena mouthed <em>'I told you so' <em>to Valentine.

"Wait! You invited me here. I told you I had nowhere to stay, remember?" Valentine wrung his hands nervously again. Joanne glanced at Helena to Valentine and narrowed her eyes.

"If you did anything to my little girl, I swear…" She looked as if she were about to stab Valentine in the throat. He didn't like that. He swallowed real hard.  
>"Mum, it's okay. I promise he didn't do anything to me."<p>

Joanne glanced at Helena and exhaled. She knew she could trust her daughter, but she eyed Valentine mysteriously. Suddenly, she gasped and went wide eyed.

"Wait a second! You're…that man! Oh, what was his name…oh! Thomas! He looks just like you!"

Valentine was appalled. A man that looked just like him? What in the hell was this?  
><em>Thomas? What a bloody awful name <em>Valentine thought to himself. He glanced at Helena, and she was biting her lip. She almost looked like she was going to cry.

"Thomas, why are you wearing that mask?" Joanne was most utterly confused now, and a headache threatened at the back of her head. She tossed her hands into the air and walked out of the room. She went somewhere downstairs and Valentine could hear her feet echoing again. He crossed his arms. Helena got up suddenly and Valentine noticed that she was still in her pajamas. The ones he had first met her in. She grabbed him suddenly by his shirt and he gasped.

"Listen to me Valentine. Thomas is downstairs. My mum is probably talking to him now. If he comes up here and sees you, I can assure you that you'll be a very questioned and confused man. He's basically the anti you, just like how the anti me was destroying the world. I have a bad feeling about this. No matter what the cost, he cannot see you!"  
>She let go of him and placed her hands over her eyes. She exhaled deeply and looked around. Nobody was yelling or coming up the stairs.<br>_Maybe, just maybe…we might be in luck _Helena thought to herself.

Of course, Thomas walked in just as she thought that.

"What the…?" Thomas was appalled. He practically fainted. Valentine did the same thing. They looked at each other in fear. Helena stayed close to Valentine and hatched a plan. She almost reached into her pocket to pull out the Very Useful book, but she stopped herself before she could. She smiled at Thomas, something she seldom did.

"Listen! Thomas, don't freak out! This is all part of a new act! We're doing doppelgangers of certain people. The only way we can tell the difference is by making them masks and accessories and using different outfits. So please understand. I know it's odd." She bit her lip tightly and she could taste blood.

"…well, alright then. I guess that's kinda cool. I'll see you around, Helena…" Thomas walked off, rubbing his forehead and mumbling. Helena exhaled and thanked the gods that Thomas wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

"Well, that went better than expected!" Helena smiled. She was happy it worked. Nothing could really go wrong now.

Suddenly, her ears rang sharply. It had been similar to the sound of whenever she had put the MirrorMask on. She collapsed to her knees and clenched her teeth tightly. Something was very very wrong. Pain raged inside her head, and Helena wanted to scream. Valentine knelt down and tried asking her what was wrong, but she couldn't hear anything. Voices overlapped each other in almost a haunting harmony.

Everything turned to black and she felt herself hit the cold floor.

_Helena…Helena…Helena…_

Standing in front of her was the anti Helena. They looked each other in the eyes. Anti was in a beautiful dress, a choker around her neck, decorated with beautiful diamonds, long laced armbands that went up to her shoulders, and an elegant necklace touched her neck. Her hair was up high, like the Dark Queen's. Helena walked toward her anti self until she reached what seemed like a glass wall separating them. Helena put her hand to the glass.

Her anti self exploded into thousands of tiny pieces as if she were glass itself. Helena screamed as this happened, and shielded herself from the pieces as she backed away instinctively. Her feet neared the edge of what seemed like a cliff, and she fell down into an abyss that never seemed to end. Darkness wrapped itself around her arms and her body, clutched at her, and pulled her deep into dark depths. She was drowning. She'd never felt so suffocated, so claustrophobic.

Suddenly, Valentine was there.

Helena reached up towards him, screaming.

"Help me, please!" She screamed, practically sobbing. She was almost enveloped in the darkness now.  
>Valentine smiled at her and exploded into thousands of tiny shards, just as the princess did. Except this time, his blood rained down on Helena.<p>

She didn't even have a chance to scream.


	4. Everything is no Longer Golden

_Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, what in the hell just happened, she's on the floor and there's blood coming out of her, oh my god, what do I do?  
><em>Valentine paced back and forth, spewing curses under his breath. Why would she just randomly fall to the floor? If this is what her people thought was funny, it definitely wasn't funny to him, not at all.

"Ah, I know! I have to check and see if she's breathing!" Valentine practically burst out loud. He kneeled down and stared at her until he saw her body heaving slightly. He exhaled and stood up again, stroking his beard in deep thought.

_What the hell am I going to do…? _Valentine didn't really know what exactly he was planning, but he grabbed a knife from the drawer and planned to poke Helena's skin with it, in order to scare her awake. It seemed like a pretty good idea to him. He always woke up when somebody scared him. He pulls up her shirt a little, and pokes her with the tip of the knife. She immediately sits up and screams. Valentine screams back and drops the knife onto the floor. He can hear a pounding of feet coming up the stairs. Another scream echoes throughout the building. Valentine feels a fist colliding with his face, and it doesn't feel that great.

"Mum! What are you doing?" Helena shouts. Joanne stares at Helena, sees the knife and the blood dripping from her daughter's nose and her mouth, and she slaps Valentine across the face. Valentine whimpers in pain and backs into a corner while Helena struggles to get up, her knees still weak from randomly passing out.

"Mum! Stop it! Valentine didn't do anything!" Helena grabs onto her mum and tries to pull her away from Valentine. Joanne rips her arm away from Helena and grabs Helena's shoulders roughly, looking extremely angry.

"Helena! How can you say he didn't do anything? Explain the knife! Explain the blood on your face! I bet he tried to knock you out and rape you!" Joanne shouts, tears streaming down her face. Helena didn't even notice the knife until now. She stared at Valentine, complete rage filling her mind at how stupid he could be sometimes.

"Mum, let me explain-"  
>Joanne slaps her daughter across the face and Helena stares at her in awe, shocked that her mother would ever do such a thing. Helena cries tears of rage and storms up to her room, slamming the door shut. Joanne stares at Valentine, eyes filled with scorn.<br>"Listen, you…I want you out of here right now. I don't care if you have nowhere to go, you don't deserve to be anywhere except for in hell!"  
>Valentine scrambles to get up and Joanne pushes him out of the door.<br>"Don't ever come back here. If I ever see your face again, I'll call the cops and you'll spend the rest of your sorry days in jail."  
>Valentine winces at the sudden slam of the door and he walks off towards the main road. It's cold outside, and he realizes he doesn't even have his jacket. He doesn't care though. Nothing seems important anymore.<br>_I just lost the only person I love and I don't have anywhere to go. No warmth, no food, no other human beings. Why must I be so stupid sometimes?  
><em>Valentine hangs his head down and follows where the speeding monsters are going, since they all seem to be flocking somewhere. He doesn't care where he ends up anymore.  
>"I'd rather be dead…" Valentine mutters to himself as he feels cold tears streaming down his face. He falls to his knees and starts sobbing, regretting ever coming to Helena's world.<p>

...

"I don't care, mum! You wouldn't listen to me and you forced my only friend away from me! I hate you! I don't want to see you ever again!"

Helena pushes her mother out of her room and slams the door shut, locking it tight. She ignores her mum's pounds at her door and the shouts of her name. Helena rips one of her old drawings off of her wall and tears it into pieces, throwing it onto the ground and stomping on it as hard as she can. She grabs whatever she can and throws it across the room in rage, even breaking one of her favorite CDs. She doesn't care though, until a few minutes later, and she regrets acting upon her feelings of hatred. Helena stares at herself in the mirror and looks at the dried blood that had run down her face and had pooled up on her chin. Helena suddenly smashes the mirror, and the face staring back at her cracks in half. Helena sees herself on the one side, and her Anti self laughing on the other. It's a wicked laugh that echoes in Helena's brain and won't leave her alone.

"Stop it!" Helena screams, and she claps her hands to her ears, closing her eyes and shaking her head. When she opens them up again, her anti self has faded from the mirror, and Helena hits herself in the temples as hard as she can, trying not to cry from the sudden pain.

"You stupid, stupid girl…stop imagining these stupid things…" Helena mutters to herself. She sees a piece of the mirror on the floor and picks it up, pricking her finger with it. She watches the blood slide down her finger, and presses the piece of mirror slightly to her wrist. She immediately tosses it away, shaking her head.  
><em>There's no way I could ever do…that… <em>Helena thinks to herself. Helena scratches the blood off of her face, its strong scent filling the air. She collapses onto her bed and curls up as tightly as she can. She notices Valentine's coat hanging off of the edge of her bed, and she pulls it off, staring at it. She carefully wraps it around her body. Helena can smell faint traces of funnel cake, and she starts to cry softly, missing the masked man already. She wraps it tighter against herself, but hears the soft sound of crinkling paper. She pulls it off slowly and searches his pockets, pulling out a dead rose and a crumpled piece of paper. She unfolds it, and gasps. It's a love letter.

_Dear Helena,  
>I've wanted to tell you <em>_for a long time__ ever since you left this world that I've had these strange feelings. The only occur when I think about you, but I don't know what they are. I want to talk to you about them, but I don't know…I think I-  
><em>Helena struggles to read the rest, since it's covered in black ink, but there is a small legible bit at the bottom.  
><em>I've never felt this way about anything or anyone else. A part of me hopes you feel the same.<br>__Sincerely,  
>Your friend,<br>__With love,  
>Valentine<br>This isn't just a love letter…_Helena thought to herself.

"…it's a love letter to me." Helena says slowly, as if she's going to fall apart if she says it any louder. She stops breathing for just a second.  
><em>Nobody has ever said they loved me before besides my parents. I don't even know if I love him. Can I love anybody? What exactly is love? I…I don't know…<em>  
>Thoughts bombard Helena's head, like a fleet of bullets.<p>

"I want to love him back, but how? How do I love somebody? Is it just an expression? I…"  
>Helena shuts up and starts crying again. She hates being confused, and she hates not knowing the answer even worse. She wishes she could consult the Very Useful book, but-<br>Wait.  
>She can. There's one page left.<br>Helena jumps out of the bed and ransacks her drawers until she finds it. It's a bit beat up, and she can barely read the cover anymore. Her thumb rests on the edge of the book and she carefully opens it up. She stares at the page, dumbfounded. Of course, it was so obvious.

...

Valentine stares through a restaurant window, the smell of food tainting his thoughts. He carefully opens the door, and hears a bell jingle. The shop is very busy, and it's filled with people. He stares at the food by the window, and he's _very_tempted. Instinctively, he tries to search his pockets, but he remembers leaving his coat at home. He's starving; it's been hours since he last ate. He can barely go thirty minutes without eating something small. His heart beats fast, and he slowly edges towards the window, making sure nobody is paying too much attention to him. He knows he shouldn't be doing this, hell, he shouldn't even be thinking it, but he's so desperate. Without thinking, he snatches a cake and runs out of the shop, running as fast as he can down the street.

"THIEF!" He hears footsteps thudding behind him, and he runs as fast as he can. He turns down an alley, trying to lose the men, when he suddenly rams into a big burly man. The cake smashes all over the man, and the man punches Valentine in the gut. Valentine's eyes go wide, and he tastes a bit of blood in his mouth as he collapses to the ground. He groans in pain and he hears hate filled voices around him.

"That's him! That's the man who stole one of my cakes," cries a woman. Valentine feels his hands being chained together and two men pick him up. They drag him to a roaring monster and shove him into the back of it. Valentine tries to struggle away, but they slam the door before he can escape.  
>"I'm getting' real sick of just arresting hoodlums, Jim. I want real action, not some deadbeat trying to steal a god damned cake…" one of them growls as they settle into the second seat. The driver gets in, laughing, and nods.<p>

"I know what you mean Ed, but it can't be helped. We have a duty, to stop crime. No matter how big or small, it's our job bud."  
>Valentine feels himself passing out from the pain of getting punched in the stomach. Everything turns to blackness and the voices in the car fade.<p>

...

When Valentine awakens again, he sees himself trapped behind bars. He grabs them and starts rattling them as fast as he can.

"Help! Somebody please! I'm trapped! Help," Valentine shouts as loud as he can. A fat man practically waddles up to the cell and slams a stick against Valentine's fingers, which causes him to shout in pain.

"You better knock it off boy, or next time I'll smack ya over the head until you bleed!"  
>The fat man walks away and Valentine slumps down onto the uncomfortable bed, trying to forget about his fingers going numb. The moon is shining through a barred window, and Valentine can slightly see how dirty the place is. It disgusts him, and he pulls a thin blanket over himself, trying to sleep, thinking that this is all a dream and that he'll be back in his own world, performing for crowds and having fun, laughing his worries away.<br>Deep down though, he knows this is all reality and he can't escape from his problems this time.


End file.
